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I think the purchase price is decent, but I have never leased a vehicle before so would appreciate any feedback. Thanks so much!

Why so much down? What is the MSRP? What is lease rate factor? Sounds like you needed to be at a payment you could live within your budget and to get there, they are requiring big down payment. Not a good deal at all first pass

I think the purchase price is decent, but I have never leased a vehicle before so would appreciate any feedback. Thanks so much!

A dealer can usually tell when a customer is a first time leaser. From the lease offer they gave you, it seems like they are trying to take advantage of that fact. Here is the BMW lease special rate for the 2014 X3. It is based on a sale price of $44225, $4000 higher than your sale price and yet the monthly payment is about the same. It is only $2700 down as oppose to your deal which is $5000 down. The annual mileage is less, 10000 miles a year, your's is 12000. All in all, I think you can do much better on the lease rate, probably in the mid $400 range a month.

As far as the purchase price, if the only option you have is the lighting package and leather, you are right in the ball park. The purchase price from the dealer is on the up and up, probably due to the Costco program. The lease price is way too much.

FWIW. We just purchased. No loan but I calculated if we keep for years, depreciation etc my cost of owning will be between $400-$425 per month. Sticker shock for me as I never owned a car that cost me more than $210 a month over the life that I owned it. However, the fun factor is so much more and we have cash now.

My gut says this feels high as others have said. Factoring in the $5k you are really paying $645 a month.

Thanks to all who replied. I have no clue when it comes to leasing. When the dealer asked me how much I would put down, I said $5k, since that's the down payment I was going to put for the purchase. Guess I better do more homework before going forward.

I think the purchase price is decent, but I have never leased a vehicle before so would appreciate any feedback. Thanks so much!

If I'm not mistaken the invoice on this is about $39500, so you could probably do better.
Have you tried negotiating directly with the dealer. Also make sure, no junk fees are folded into "sales tax and license".

FWIW. We just purchased. No loan but I calculated if we keep for 4-years, depreciation etc my cost of owning will be between $400-$425 per month. Sticker shock for me as I never owned a car that cost me more than $210 a month over the life that I owned it. However, the fun factor is so much more and we have cash now.

My gut says this feels high as others have said. Factoring in the $5k you are really paying $645 a month.

330gal -- Where are you in CA? You should contact our fest founder Jon Shafer at the Santa Barbara BMW store for a deal you can trust. At the very least run this last one by Jon jshafer@sbautogroup.com and he will tell you if it can be better. He (like most if not all of our fest sponsors) is a straight shooter!

Rather than buying a x3 28i off the lot, I would order a 28i in the expectation of getting a car with this issue fixed at the factory as opposed to fixed in the dealer's repair shop....keep looking at these forums as I think there will be a long and lively conversation on this topic

I strongly echo what UncleJ wrote - get with a dealer you can trust who wants your long term repeat business.

Leasing works well if you can write off the expense of your vehicle and/or if you don't drive much. I put over 15K miles per year on my vehicles. So the only time I tried a lease, it did not work well for me: I had to artificially restrict my driving and paid more money over the life of the vehicle in the end. I should have just figured out how to make the higher payments on a purchase. Lesson: run your numbers.

330gal -- Where are you in CA? You should contact our fest founder Jon Shafer at the Santa Barbara BMW store for a deal you can trust. At the very least run this last one by Jon jshafer@sbautogroup.com and he will tell you if it can be better. He (like most if not all of our fest sponsors) is a straight shooter!

Rather than buying a x3 28i off the lot, I would order a 28i in the expectation of getting a car with this issue fixed at the factory as opposed to fixed in the dealer's repair shop....keep looking at these forums as I think there will be a long and lively conversation on this topic

I strongly echo what UncleJ wrote - get with a dealer you can trust who wants your long term repeat business.

The dealer said I would need to order this vehicle and it will take a month for delivery. Do you think I can get a 35i for the same leasing price? I don't drive much so the 12k/yr is good enough for me.

I agree. It is not super complicated once you understand the numbers but there are a lot of variables. Plus I would not put anything down. While your payment will be lower, you run the risk of losing that money if the car is totaled and not putting up lots of money is one of the upsides for a lease.

Leasing, financially, is almost always a suckers deal unless as indicated above you can deduct your lease. You cannot justify it financially w/o that deduction. Obviously there are other reasons to take the lease and typically a lease puts you in a vehicle you cannot afford to buy outright(the #1 reason buyers lease). Another top reason is drivers like to be in a new vehicle every three years and leasing puts that on auto pilot.

Leasing BMWs are typically less of a sucker deal than other brands due to the high residuals. But you will still be money behind with a lease vs buying. And the longer you hold on to a purchased vehicle the better the financials look vs leasing.

Don't let the dealer lead you around with the standard how much do you want to pay a month and how much do you have to put down BS. Do your research at BMWconfig, KBB, Edmunds and you should be able to go into the dealer, stand firm and get a fair deal.

This deal makes you pay about $20000 over 36 months. If you lease for another 36 months after that, the total money you pay can almost let you purchase a X3. With proper care, a six years old car can look almost like new. Personally I think buying/financing is better than leasing.

Let us know what Jon came up with. He sells a lot of cars up here in the Bay Area. You can even take the train down to Santa Barbara to pick up your new ride, his store is not far from the depot and he will probably pick you up. Actually in SB not too much is far from the depot. Great place, lots of fun places to visit too. Much nicer than "beautiful downtown Burbank" IMHO! You can also take Jon's deal and try to get it matched at one of the 6 Bay Area BMW stores, but be careful with that! With Jon you know you are getting a square deal. The stores closest to you are the most difficult to deal with but the ones down here and in the East Bay are more amenable to dealing.

The dealer told me today is the last day to take the $500 loyalty rebate. He also said the price on all vehicles will go up $200 starting October. Is this true or is he trying to make me pull the trigger? The purchase price I negotiated for the lease is $200 less than the dealer invoice. I'm not sure what else I need to do to lower my monthly payment.

There is a BMW price increase scheduled for October 1. X3s go up by $200. Some vehicles go up as little as $100 (X1 28i), some by as much as $2000 (M5 and M6s), and the rest of the price increases are in between.

There is a BMW price increase scheduled for October 1. X3s go up by $200. Some vehicles go up as little as $100 (X1 28i), some by as much as $2000 (M5 and M6s), and the rest of the price increases are in between.

Thanks for confirming the increase. Then I must finalize my order today.

So I have nailed down exactly what I wanted. Can somebody please help me with the numbers? I want the following packages:

Didnt you get an offer 3 days ago for $439 a month? Is that for the options listed above, if so, its one heck of a deal.

I would say a fair deal for the vehicle above is about high $400s a month for 12000 miles per year.

The $439 was only with lighting package and leather option. I went to test drive this weekend, and added the premium and drivers assist package, and the rail option to the order. Now my monthly is $499 including tax.

The $439 was only with lighting package and leather option. I went to test drive this weekend, and added the premium and drivers assist package, and the rail option to the order. Now my monthly is $499 including tax.

Its not a bad lease rate, a bit high. I would try to knock off another $10 to $20 if you can.